W hy did the Southern Region need 35 replacement locomotives in the late spring of 1953 when it only had 30 ‘Merchant Navies'? For example, Stewarts Lane depot received 14 replacement locomotives. How many ‘MNs’ did it have on its books in April 1953? Three: Nos. 35026, 35027 and 35028.
Indeed, the allocation of the replacement locomotives to cover for ‘Merchant Navy’ fleet, urgently withdrawn for inspections after Bibby Line's crank axle broke at Crewkerne on April 24, was decidedly uneven. Nine Elms received 16 locomotives to replace 12 ‘MNs'; Exmouth Junction got three to replace eight; Salisbury got two to replace four and Dover and Bournemouth got none to replace Nos. 35029/30 and 35002 respectively.
The reason appears to be that the replacement locomotives from other regions got sent to
